LSMedia or Liverpool student media at liverpoolstudentmedia.com is a brand new website launched by the University of Liverpool's students to promote and support talented Liverpool student's creative written, visual or radio content.

Clip of the Fortnight

This fortnight’s clip comes courtesy of last week's finale of 'Paris Hilton's British Best Friend' (ITV2). Over the series, Paris put her potential 'BFF's' (Best Friends Forever.... yeah right) through a number of 'challenges' to see which would win the title.  It came down to Emma, a failed singer, Kat- a stripper and Sam, an obsessed fan. So, you can see why Paris Hilton had a hard decision; she also had the hard task of reading from an auto-cue. What I found laughable about this show, was the fact that the contestants took it so seriously.  Do they have nothing else to aspire to in life?  Clearly not.   With many of them claiming that Paris was a role model (have they forgotten about her spell in jail, and a little known video that circulated the internet?).
The eventual winner was Sam (the obsessed fan) who probably got the attention of Paris until the cameras stopped rolling.  I don't know why she didn't use her catchphrase 'TTYN' (Talk To You Never) on the winner! Sam got told by Paris that he would 'now join her in her life', but it's questionable whether the mirror she looks in all day is big enough for two people.

Matt Healy

Band of the Fortnight: Regards

Armed with brightly coloured jumpers, cheeky smiles and the kind of upbeat, jangly-pop tunes that could soundtrack a sunny English afternoon, Regards are here to remind us that spring is most definitely on its way.  Although originally from and now based in Stafford, lead singer Matthew and guitarist Lewis are former students of the University of Liverpool and have spent the past year making a name for themselves by securing opening spots for The Holloways and The Metros.  These guys clearly know a thing or two about writing the perfect pop hook: ‘Keep A Secret’ has the melodic strength of some of Oasis’ best work while you would be forgiven for mistaking the romantic lyricism and blunt vocal delivery in ‘Scrapbooks’ for one of Alex Turner’s shelved works.  For information on upcoming gigs and to sign up to the mailing list, go to www.myspace.com/regards.

Sian O’Hagan

Reunion Rage

Is it just me or is anyone else sick of the recent wave of old bands getting back together for reunion tours? OK OK, the Take That reunion has proved very successful but does that mean everyone has to give it a go? The latest act to hop on this band wagon is Spandau Ballet – does anyone really want to see Tony Hadley and his middle-age spread all over the music channels? Spandau aren’t the first to do a ‘come back’ this year though, what with Ultravox announcing a tour and Blink-182 joining the crop of oldies for reunion, even though pronouncing to hate each other only six months ago! Maybe it’s for the love of music but I get that sinking feeling that they’re all just trying to cash in on the recent reunions trend and their fans unfaltering loyalty.

Louise Cameron

Rate It or Slate It

Snoop Dogg teams up with Chase & Status, the emerging prospects of the UK DnB scene to make a single together, ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’, based on Chase & Status’ album track, ‘Eastern Jam’.

The unmistakable voice of Snoop Dogg, a heavy bass and beat that could register on the Richter Scale, all tempered by the enchanting voice of Tanvi Shah in the background;  ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’ is going to be filling floors worldwide very soon: I challenge even the biggest square not to hit the dancefloor upon hearing it. Having sat on the fence regarding dubstep previous to this, I now confess to being a whole lot more inclined towards it all and giving extended listening time to Benga and Burial this week; at this rate I might even be persuaded to listen to Snoop Dogg - perhaps I’m the first convert of many.  Furthermore I feel this song may well be the track to take dubstep to the masses.

Josh Brown

Unless you’ve been living in a desolate squat with no electricity and therefore no facebook, television or phone (the horror!) and no social interaction, you will have noticed that the musical genre known as dubstep has become the new status symbol for being “cool”. If you don’t like dubstep – you’re a loser. Or so some people will have you believe.  And it seems that nobody is safe from jumping on the dub wagon, exhibited here by Snoop Dogg, one of the original and most notorious “gangster rappers”.  The title ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’ is a play on words of the latest blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire with Snoop telling us all once again how he came from nothing and is now so successful he could probably piss on his money and set it alight without batting an eyelid. The track is a cover of Chase and Status – ‘Eastern Jam’ which on its own is a decent dubstep tune but Snoop Dogg’s vocals don’t really add anything exciting.  The lyrics aren’t great and it just seems like Snoop is trying way too hard.  He hasn’t released a record for over 3 years, and his style lyrically and in terms of sound doesn’t seem as relevant now as it was say 8 years ago. I could even go as far to suggest that he has maybe passed his peak but is still desperate to be involved with what is becoming more and more popular.  It’s kind of like your mum putting “lol” in a text and thinking she’s down with the kids.  It’s a bit cringe worthy.  The chorus is almost excruciating to listen to: it’s been slowed down but sounds way too distorted and you almost feel that Snoop Dogg is being sucked into some kind of black hole, which probably wouldn’t be a bad thing.  Listening to this track I think the Dogg should definitely leave the dub alone.

Louisa Shanks

So, we’ve told you in no uncertain terms what we think of the track, already kicking up a storm within the industry.  But what do YOU think?  Let us know in your comments whether you Rate It or Slate It.

Brownpants Rants

I’ve never got My Chemical Romance. Indeed, I’ve never really understood Emo. I never understood why Goth, a perfectly good and enduring youth culture, had to absorb and regurgitate self-pity in that way.  A few years ago I worked in a record shop and on Saturday afternoons the Emo kids would come in and just, well, hang around fingering through the racks and looking all sad and world-weary. I felt like directing them to the James Brown section and saying “Go on, have a listen. Life isn’t that bad y’know”.  All in all though, I was glad to leave them alone.  Emo didn’t infringe on my world so why should I infringe on theirs? Live and let live.  And such was the way until very recently. That was when Emo,  and more specifically MCR crossed a line.  I refer, of course, to their recent shafting of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row”.  I love Bob Dylan.  No, you don’t understand, I really, utterly and totally love Bob Dylan.  And now I hate MCR.  I don’t want to, but I feel I must.  Hearing their version is like having my ears sodomised by a rather large and angry Emo kid who feels that, just because Mummy and Daddy won’t let them borrow the car at the weekend, and like, only got them the 8gb I-pod touch for their birthday (like so unfair, they are sooo selfish.  I swear they wish I had never been born.  I cut myself you know....) rather than the 16gb, must now make the world suffer with them.  Bastards.  I am suffering, believe me I am.  And if I ever catch up with MCR in person I will make them suffer too.

Paul Brown

‘And Now For Something Completely Different…'

The underground music scene is generally associated, in the eyes of the channel 4 viewer, as hardcore, drug fuelled electronic dance music, which sees its heart-thumping teenage ravers inhaling the aroma of energising radiance in a smut pit of shimmer and sweat. However, the underground scene is something different; it’s a scene that is separate from mainstream culture.

Even though acts like Damien Rice and Arcade Fire bring their own blend of the folk genre into the public domain, traditional influenced folk is still something of an abnormality within popular music. Mello Mello, the anti-chic, organic café just outside of concert square, caters for this alternative of scenes with its Monday night folk jam sessions. This week saw harps, penny whistles and acoustic guitars joining the tight homely community of the handful of pentatonic folkies singing out rustic melodies intersperse with graceful poetry and general artistic based chit-chat. A great evening which was eager to get new-comers involved and interested in this niche of genres.

Andy Clark

Celebrity Clangers

It was a tough choice to find the best celebrity mistake for our first ever column, what with the likes of Lindsay Lohan letting her assistant drive her $100,000 Maserati (that’s a very expensive car to you and me) which she promptly crashed, writing it off. The story I want to draw your attention to though is Girls Aloud’s outfits in their new video. Many may disagree with me, saying they look fantastic but I really think it’s a step too far!! We know they’ve got great bodies but I really didn’t want to see Nadine Coyle’s nipples thank you very much! Why do they feel the need to dress themselves up in something you’d find hidden at the back of Ann Summers?! To add insult to injury it makes Cheryl Cole look lumpy, I didn’t know she had enough meat on her bones to even look lumpy! So I say put your bits away girls and for god’s sake wear something more normal in the next video!

Louise Cameron

Pound Saver

Apparently the world is undergoing an economic recession.  As a student, I myself have not found much change to my daily lifestyle (oversleep, possibly make a lecture or two, eat, sleep some more and then drink until my liver’s had quite enough of me) other than that my parents always sound slightly more begrudging each time I phone home for a top up to my drinking fund (Dad if you’re reading this – the money REALLY gets spent on books, honest).  However, as our student lives do seem to be somewhat budgeted anyway, we shall offer our best ideas to curb your expenditure in any part of your life us Arts folk feel we can safely hold some influence over.

Firstly, a relatively unknown treasure to be found in the heart of Liverpool’s town centre is The Metropolitan.  With a range of comparatively cheap drinks (or so I’ve been told – I’m a Londoner – anything under a fiver seems to be a bargain these days), a great range of live music (for FREE), a dance and DnB venue upstairs and two lovely bouncers who have a keen eye on who constitutes as “fit” (sorry lads, I’m pretty sure legs and cleavage swings it for them), The Metropolitan makes a brilliant setting for a warm and chummy evening.  I headed down on 19/03, expecting to kill a couple of hours comfortably before our regular Thursday night Heebies expedition, only to find myself enjoying two new acts with plenty to offer besides a welcome distraction.  The second of these, The Jeopardies (I am told the name is still a work in progress) provided their modern twist on the greats which this fair city has spawned over the years – perhaps influenced by their rehearsal quarters which happen to have been previously used by the La’s and Rascals.   Attracting attention from all those gathered within the venue, the band delivered time and time again with well crafted pieces which despite the lead microphone’s technical difficulties, showcased the quartet’s indisputable talent – no mean feat given this was their first live show. 

Incidentally, if you happen to be searching for gigs in a frugal way, I have been told the band paid absolutely nothing to play, and were actually paid for their services – The Metropolitan clearly known how to provide an enjoyable evening of music with minimal cost to anyone involved.  If you can bear the smell of the facilities downstairs, I seriously recommend that you pay a visit.

21 Berry Street

L1 9DF

0151 709 5055

Katie Paxton

If you’d rather create your own music than sample that of others, why not take a leaf out of Paul Brown’s book?

As you have all seen, the sun has finally come out this week. Hurrah! Perfect weather for the first, and hopefully not the last, gathering in Abercromby Square for an informal Jam session. Members of Svafa, the rather lovely folk collective, and a gathering of music students spent a most enjoyable Wednesday afternoon drinking beer and singing everything from Irish folk songs to AC/DC covers and much more. An ideal way to avoid the library and imminent essay deadlines if ever there was one. Like I say, this is hopefully the first of many so if you are walking through and see such a gathering in the future please feel free to grab a beer and join us!

Paul Brown

All words, unless otherwise stated, Katie Paxton